Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

area (Figure 25-7) between 1862 and 1999. They werepresented in an animated video showing how the citiesmerged into one gigantic urban area by the 1990s. Thevideo helped a governor of Maryland win legislativeapproval for an antisprawl, smart growth program.What Are the Advantages and Disadvantagesof Using Zoning to Control Land Use? Usefulbut ImprovableZoning is useful but can favor high-priceddevelopment over environmental protectionand can discourage innovative solutionsto urban problems.Once a land-use plan is developed, governments controlthe uses of various parcels of land by legal and economicmethods. The most widely used approach is zoning,in which various parcels of land are designated forcertain uses.Zoning can be used to control growth and protectareas from certain types of development. For example,cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Curitiba, Brazil,(p. 563) have used zoning to encourage high-densitydevelopment along major mass transit corridors to reduceautomobile use and air pollution.Despite its usefulness, zoning has several drawbacks,one being that some developers can influence ormodify zoning decisions in ways that cause destructionof wetlands, prime cropland, forested areas, andopen space. Another problem is that zoning often favorshigh-priced housing, factories, hotels, and otherbusinesses over protecting environmentally sensitiveareas and providing low-cost housing. The reason is,again, that most local governments depend on propertytaxes for their revenue.In addition, overly strict zoning can discourage innovativeapproaches to solving urban problems. Forexample, the pattern in the United States and in someother countries has been to prohibit businesses in residentialareas, which increases suburban sprawl. Someurban planners want to return to mixed-use zoning tohelp reduce sprawl. For example, in the 1970s, Portland,Oregon, decided that it could cut driving andgasoline consumption by resurrecting the idea ofneighborhood grocery stores. It worked.How Is Smart Growth Used to Control Growthand Sprawl? Channeling Growth and Reiningin the CarSmart growth can control growth patterns, discourageurban sprawl, reduce car dependence, and protectecologically sensitive areas.There is growing use of the concept of smart growth ornew urbanism to encourage more environmentally sustainabledevelopment that requires less dependence oncars, controls and directs sprawl, and reduces wastefulresource use. It recognizes that urban growth will occur.But it uses zoning laws and an array of other toolsto channel growth to areas where it can cause lessharm, discourage sprawl, protect ecologically sensitiveand important lands and waterways, and developmore environmentally sustainable urban areas andneighborhoods that are more enjoyable places to live.Figure 25-16 (p. 578) lists smart growth tools used toprevent and control urban growth and sprawl. Which,if any, of these tools are being used in your community?The most widely used ways to slow and controlurban sprawl are to set growth boundaries aroundcities, preserve open space outside of urban areas, developspaces within urban areas that have been leftbehind from urban sprawl, create new towns and villageswithin existing cities, and revitalize neighborhoodsand downtown areas.Portland, Oregon used some of these strategies tocontrol sprawl and reduce dependence on the car, andit worked. Since 1975 Portland’s population has grownby about 50% but its urban area has increased by only2%. And abundant green space and natural beauty isjust 20 minutes from downtown.The city also encourages clustered, mixed-useneighborhood development consisting of stores, lightindustries, professional offices, high-density housing,and access to mass transit that allows most people tomeet their daily needs without a car. Portland has furtherreduced car use by developing an excellent lightrailline and an extensive network of bus lines, bikelanes, and walkways. Employers are encouraged togive their employees bus passes instead of providingparking spaces. Downtown Portland is a vibrant andthriving community and, in 2000, Money magazinelisted Portland as the most livable city in the UnitedStates. Curitiba, Brazil (p. 563) has also used a varietyof such strategies to control sprawl and reduce dependenceon the car. And car-free villages have been createdin cities such as Munich, Germany; Vancouver,Canada; and Zurich, Switzerland. Several studies haveshown that most forms of smart growth provide morejobs and spur more economic renewal than conventionaleconomic growth.China has taken the strongest stand of any countryagainst sprawl. The government has designated80% of the country’s arable land as fundamental land.Building on such land requires approval from localand provincial governments and the State Council—somewhat like having to get congressional approvalfor a new subdivision in the United States. Developersviolating these rules face the death penalty. Nationalland-use planning also is used in Japan and much ofwestern Europe.Most European countries have been successfulin discouraging urban sprawl and encouraging compactcities. They have controlled development at thenational level and imposed high gasoline taxes tohttp://biology.brookscole.com/miller14577